,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #difi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,august #a1    
#bjbd,mr4 ,heinrich introduced the      
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,banking1
 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs  ,a      
,,bill  ,to require the ,government     
,accountability ,office to conduct a    
study regarding insurance coverage for  
damages from wildfires1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,wildfire ,insurance
 ,coverage ,study ,act of #bjbd4  #b4   
,,gao study regarding insurance for     
wildfire damage  7a7 ,study ,the        
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states1 in consultation with the       
,director of the ,federal ,insurance    
,office and ,state insurance regulators1
 shall conduct a study to analyze and   
determine the following3 7#a7 ,risk     
assessment ,the extent and nature of    
wildfire risk in the ,united ,states1   
including-- 7,a7 identifying trends in  

declarations for wildfires under the    
,fire ,management ,assistance grant     
program under section #dbj of the       
,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster ,relief 
and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db    
,u4,s4,c4 #eahg71 with respect to       
geography1 costs1 probability1 and      
frequency of wildfire disasters2  7,b7  
identifying mitigation practices that   
would assist in reducing premiums for   
insurance policies covering damages from
 wildfires2  7,c7 identifying existing  
programs of the ,federal ,government and
 ,state governments that measure        
wildfire risk and assess their          
effectiveness in forecasting wildfire   
events and informing wildfire response2 
and  7,d7 analyzing and assessing the   
need for a national map for measuring   
and quantifying wildfire risk4  7#b7    
,existing state of coverage ,with       
respect to the existing state of        
homeowners insurance coverage and       
commercial property insurance coverage  
for damage from wildfires in the ,united

 ,states-- 7,a7 the extent to which     
private insurers have1 during the       
#aj-year period ending on the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 increased   
rates1 cost-sharing provisions1 or both 
for such coverage 7after adjusting for  
inflation7 and the geographic areas in  
which such increased rates1             
cost-sharing1 or both applied2  7,b7 the
 extent to which private insurers have1 
during the #aj-year period ending on the
 date of the enactment of this ,act1    
refused to renew policies for such      
coverages and the geographic areas to   
which such refusals applied2  7,c7 the  
events that have triggered such         
increased rates and refusals to renew   
policies2  7,d7 in cases in which       
private insurers curtail coverage1 the  
extent to which homeowners coverage and 
commercial property coverage are        
terminated altogether and the extent to 
which such coverages are offered but    
with coverage for damage from wildfires 
excluded2 and  7,e7 the extent to which1

 and circumstances under which1 private 
insurers are continuing to provide      
coverage for damage from wildfires-- 7i7
 in general2  7ii7 subject to a         
condition that mitigation activities are
 taken1 such as hardening of properties 
and landscaping against wildfires1 by   
property owners1 ,state or local        
governments1 park or forest authorities1
 or other land management authorities2  
and  7iii7 subject to any other         
conditions4  7#c7 ,regulatory responses 
,with respect to actions taken by ,state
 insurance regulatory agencies in       
response to increased premium rates1    
cost sharing1 or both for coverage for  
damage from wildfires and exclusion of  
such coverage from homeowners policies--
 7,a7 the extent of rate regulation2    
7,b7 the extent of moratoria on such    
rate and cost-sharing increases and     
exclusions and on non-renewals2  7,c7   
the extent to which ,states require     
homeowners coverage to include coverage 
for damage from wildfires or make sales 

of homeowners coverage contingent on the
 sale1 underwriting1 or financing of    
separate wildfire coverage in the       
,state2  7,d7 the extent to which       
,states have established ,state residual
 market insurance entities1 reinsurance 
programs1 or similar mechanisms for     
coverage of damages from wildfires2     
7,e7 any other actions ,states or       
localities have taken in response to    
increased premium rates1 cost sharing1  
or both for coverage for damage from    
wildfires and exclusion of such coverage
 from homeowners policies1 including    
forestry and wildfire management        
policies and subsidies for premiums and 
cost sharing for wildfire coverage2     
7,f7 the effects on the homeownership   
coverage market of such actions taken by
 ,states2 and  7,g7 the effectiveness   
and sustainability of such actions taken
 by ,states4  7#d7 ,impediments in      
underwriting wildfire risk ,with respect
 to impediments faced by private        
insurers underwriting wildfire risk1    

what is or are-- 7,a7 the correlated    
risks and the extent of such risks2     
7,b7 the extent of the inability of     
private insurers to estimate magnitude  
of future likelihood of wildfires and of
 expected damages from wildfires2  7,c7 
the extent to which need for affordable 
housing contributes to people relocating
 to more remote1 heavily wooded areas   
with higher wildfire risk2  7,d7 the    
potential for wildfire losses           
sufficiently large to jeopardize the    
solvency of insurers2  7,e7 the extent  
to which1 and areas in which1           
risk-adjusted market premiums for       
wildfire risk are so high as to be      
unaffordable2  7,f7 the manners in which
 the ,federal ,government and ,state    
governments can alleviate any of these  
impediments1 including through-- 7i7    
improved forest management policies to  
reduce wildfire risk2  7ii7 improved    
data to estimate risk2  7iii7 relocating
 homeowners from wildfire zones2  7iv7  
allowing insurers to charge             

risk-adjusted premiums for wildfire     
risk1 combined with subsidized premiums 
for lower-income homeowners2 and  7v7   
taking a last-loss position in          
reinsuring wildfire risk2  7,g7 the     
available policy responses if private   
insurers exit the wildfire coverage     
market and the advantages and           
disadvantages of each such response2    
7,h7 the effects of lack of wildfire    
coverage or more expensive wildfire     
coverage rates1 cost-sharing1 or both-- 
7i7 on local communities1 including on  
low- or moderate-income property owners 
and small businesses2  7ii7 by race and 
ethnicity2  7iii7 on rebuilding in      
communities previously damaged by       
wildfires2 and  7iv7 on the demand for  
wildfire coverage by property owners2   
7,i7 the effects of potential ,state    
prohibitions on termination of policies 
due to wildfire claims on insurer       
solvency2 and  7,j7 the manner in which 
private insurers are modeling or        
estimating future wildfire risk4  7b7   

,report ,not later than the expiration  
of the #bd-month period beginning on the
 date of the enactment of this ,act1 the
 ,comptroller ,general of the ,united   
,states shall submit to the ,congress a 
report identifying the findings and     
conclusions of the study conducted      
pursuant to subsection 7a74